Next week will see the 16th anniversary of Heath Ledger‘s tragic death. The talented Australian actor initially established a career as a teen heartthrob, though was soon flexing his talents in heavyweight roles in Lords of Dogtown, I’m Not There, and Brokeback Mountain.
But it’s Ledger’s indelible performance as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight that he’s most remembered for, giving the villain charisma, unpredictability and a scary sense of purpose that other versions of the character lack.
Ledger was remembered at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards by Nolan, who took the stage to collect a long-awaited Best Director award for Oppenheimer. Nolan paid tribute to the Joker star, noting that the last time he was on this stage was collecting Ledger’s posthumous award for Best Supporting Actor.
So, what other Golden Globe nominations and awards did Ledger scoop up?
Heath Ledger’s Golden Globe awards
Ledger was nominated twice at the Golden Globes but only won once. His first nod was in 2005 when he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain.
Ledger played Ennis Del Mar, who finds himself in a tragic but passionate relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal’s Jack Twist. Ledger didn’t pick up the Golden Globe on this occasion, but his performance was also recognized by the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, the Critic’s Choice Movie Awards and the Screen Actors Guild (among many others). This was the only Golden Globe nomination he would receive during his all-too-brief life.
As Nolan indicated in his speech, Ledger went on to win a posthumous Golden Globe in 2009 for The Dark Knight. His Joker was nominated pretty much everywhere else, also scoring the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that year.
If he hadn’t died we’re certain Ledger would have added many more accolades to this list. So, when 22 Jan. – the anniversary of his death – rolls around, maybe it’s time for yet another rewatch of The Dark Knight to pay tribute to a talent lost long before his time.
